I wonder if that's part of the company's problem, that the E-Coli incident just gave people a reason to rethink their habits? I used to eat a lot at a similar burrito restaurant in Australia, but something happened to make me realize I was paying twice as much for a meal there than I would at Subway, and for all the burrito restaurant's "healthy food" claims I was starting to put on weight, so I stopped eating there.
Why wait in a slow line, pay a premium price, and spend twice as long to chow on a burrito or bowl as it would take you to eat a burger or taco? Sure the food is good, but the hassle is just a bit much. If I wanted to put up with all of that I prefer to just spend a few bucks more and go to a proper restaurant.
I never noticed how good chipotles ingredients were until I started eating bowls instead of burritos. Those massive burritos are a sloppy tube of undifferentiated food matter that totally obscures the quality of the food.
Personally I think they should institute a "small size" burrito, for a lower price. Moe's does this.
I'd like that, but I can see why they don't. I doubt the savings on ingredients would be adequate for them to preserve their margins yet offer a price point that would seem reasonable to the consumer. Very few would be interested if it were only (say) 15 cents cheaper.
That's the key. It lost at its supposed top mission to - provide wholesome food with healthy ingredients, not like those other cheap / dirty fast food places.
Yes Tesla had an issue, Dole did. Tesla is new, its mission is to make really cool cars. Dole's is selling food, but its mission is to provide bulks processed foods, which a large majority of people wouldn't honestly claim is healthy or wholesome.
I can't explain but, yes, I lost the desire to eat there. I know rationally it doesn't make sense. But we have walked too many times past a Chipotle we used to go to and said "meh maybe next time". Next time never comes somehow.